The Night Watchers
by The Master of the Night Shift
Summary: A group of people see bright lights in the sky, unsure of what it really is, and together, they shall find out.


**THE NIGHT WATCHERS**

Only a select few humans knew about the blinding, flashing lights in the night sky in 1991. They first thought that it was an aurora borealis, or just any aurora in particular. Maybe it was the northern lights. The sky was decorated with a green that really was a very rare blue color. The lights in the sky were beautiful, indeed.

After thinking that maybe it was an aurora borealis or the northern lights, they also thought that maybe it was a calling.

A calling of what? Just what exactly?

Maybe alien beings were trying to contact the humans once and for all?

Maybe it was an exploding star?

Maybe it was star dust?

Maybe it was a comet?

Maybe it was a meteor?

What was it?

Down in his laboratory run by The Corporation, a government conglomerate created to perform awesome scientific experiments, one of their most brilliant scientists had been looking at the strange light in the sky through his gigantic telescope. He had been studying about it since it had appeared a few nights ago.

In the village outside of the laboratory, the other few humans were awakened by the lights. They must have been so bright it had to have woken these people up.

One of these humans woke quickly, got into his robe, put on his socks and slippers, and raced outside as soon as the lights had nearly blinded him. He ran out as fast as he could. After running a few feet away from his home, he looked up in amazement.

What could it have been? Honestly?

The lights were so bright that they even streaked in different directions. Then they rolled from east to west.

"Bright lights! Bright lights!" cried out a young boy.

"Those aren't bright lights," an older man said.

"Then what are they?"

"Maybe it's a meteor."

"Maybe it's star dust."

"Maybe it's an exploding star."

"Maybe it's a comet."

"Maybe it's a calling for first contact."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe the aliens have come!"

"Just why would you think that?"

"We've been waiting for so long for them. Haven't you ever read yourself any books on extraterrestrial contact with humans?"

"No, I don't believe in that kind of nonsense."  
>"Nonsense? Nonsense? What do you mean, nonsense? This could be real."<p>

"Haven't you heard the saying, 'seeing is believing'?"

"Well, yes, but this could be the real thing."

"You read too much science fiction."

"No, no, no I don't! Sure, I love to read science fiction, but that's not why I believe that extraterrestrials - or aliens - or whatever the hell you call them - are real."

The two humans bickered and bickered and bickered.

"You're just a young, silly boy. I don't believe in such nonsense. I told you once, I will tell you again, dear boy!"

"What will you do if I've proved you wrong?"

"Well, then, you have, dear boy," the man replied. "But until you can prove me wrong, listen to me, and listen to me good: _there are no such things as aliens or extraterrestrials or whatever you call them. Period. Enough said, dear boy_."

"You don't know that, though!"

"Oh, and you do?"

The dear boy's mother came out from hearing the bickering.

"What are you two bickering about now?" she exclaimed.

"Well, your son happens to believe that the bright lights in the sky are an alien contact. I told him that it's nothing but just absolute nonsense!"

"Well, damn, Rick, he's just a boy! Let him say whatever he wants!"

"Why should I?"  
>"Because he's a child, for goodness sake! And what bright lights?"<p>

"Look up, dear woman."

The woman looked up. She had never ever seen anything like it before.

"Wow," she said, "I've never ever seen anything like _this_ before. You sure it's an alien contact, son?"

"Yes, mother," the dear boy replied. "I just wish Dad would believe me. But I understand if he doesn't." The boy looked down at his feet, in shame.

"Rick, you're being ignorant for not having believe your son, you know that?" the mother asked.

"No, no I don't know that, dear."  
>"Rick, I think you owe your son an apology."<p>

"Oh, oh, all right. Son, I'm sorry."

"I forgive you, father," the boy said after a minute of silence.

Meanwhile, back at his laboratory, the scientist who had been observing the bright lights in the sky was _still_ observing the bright lights in the sky. It was after midnight, and he felt that he ought to be making his way home now. His wife would be worried about him.

Taking his eyes away from the telescope, he hummed. He got up out of his observing chair and took off his lab coat. He took off his black tie and unbuttoned the collar of his white with black pinstripes shirt. He felt exhausted. Going home would be good. He didn't like to make his wife feel worried about him. It was just an awful feeling for him. He never quite liked making her feel that way.

Leaving the observatory, he held his lab coat over his left shoulder and whistled as he walked down the long brown limestone corridor.

In this brown limestone corridor, bright white lights were hung from the ceiling, and there were plants standing at the sides of each door. The walls were decorated with paintings like Van Gogh's _Starry Night_, _Mona Lisa_, and several others. The floors and walls and everything else were spotlessly clean. That was only because The Corporation liked to have their facilities spotlessly clean; they loathed messes.

Walking down the corridor, still whistling, the scientist passed by several janitors, who all greeted him in friendly tones. The janitors were clad in black jumpsuits and boots and hats. They had ID cards on the right breast pockets of their uniforms.

As he walked down the corridor, the scientist heard two of the janitors jabber away about something. He quickly stopped walking when he heard the first one's voice.

"Hey, did you hear about what's in the sky right now?"  
>"Yeah, it must be an aurora borealis or something like that."<br>"Nah, I don't think it's an aurora borealis."

"What do you think it is then?"

"Oh, I don't know, I'm thinking it's something like alien contact."

"Yeah? Well they said that there's a little boy who believes it is an alien contact, but his daddy won't believe him."  
>"His own daddy won't believe his own son? What a schmuck."<p>

"Hahaha, what a schmuck. Hahaha."

"What? What's so funny, man? If my own father didn't believe me if I thought the same, I would have called him a schmuck, too."

"No you wouldn't."

"Yes I would have."

"I don't believe it."

"Well, why the hell not? Aren't you my friend?"

"Yeah, of course I'm your friend."

"Ahh, whatever."

The scientist kept walking down the corridor. He didn't want to get involved into these janitors' mix anyway. Even though it had to do with what he had been observing for a few nights now, he didn't want to get into their business.

At about midnight, a woman woke. She had fallen asleep at about nine, but she didn't seem to really remember falling asleep in the first place. She had lived with her husband, who was sleeping soundly in their bed. The midnight landscape shone on it.

She stretched after having got out of bed, rubbed her eyes, and went into the bathroom. "Lights," she said, and they came on. The lights were so bright she felt blinded for a while. She looked at herself in the mirror, turned on the sink, and with some water she threw it onto her face. She grabbed a towel and dried her face off. After having left the bathroom, the lights went off automatically. She left her bedroom and went to go check on her daughter. Her daughter was sleeping soundly, and so was the cat.

She then walked down the stairs into the living room which also led into the kitchen. She sat on the couch in the living room and from the corner of her eye she saw a bluish green light streak quickly across the sky.

It had shocked her to see it. She shot up in surprise, opened the front door of the house, and ran out. Her husband woke shortly afterwards and saw his lovely wife running across the plain. He quickly raced down the stairs to run outside to meet her.

"What is it, dear?"

"Bright lights! Bright lights!" the woman exclaimed.

"Those aren't bright lights," her husband said.

"Then what are they?"

"Maybe it's a meteor."

"Maybe it's star dust."

"Maybe it's an exploding star."

"Maybe it's a comet."

"Maybe it's a calling for first contact."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe the aliens have come!"

"Just why would you think that?"

"We've been waiting for so long for them. Haven't you ever read yourself any books on extraterrestrial contact with humans?"

"No, I don't believe in that kind of nonsense."  
>"Nonsense? Nonsense? What do you mean, nonsense? This could be real."<p>

"Haven't you heard the saying, 'seeing is believing'?"

"Well, yes, but this could be the real thing."

"You read too much science fiction."

"No, no, no I don't! Sure, I love to read science fiction, but that's not why I believe that extraterrestrials - or aliens - or whatever the hell you call them - are real."

The two humans bickered and bickered and bickered.

"You're just seeing things, dear wife. I don't believe in such nonsense. I told you once, I will tell you again, dear wife!"

"What will you do if I've proved you wrong?"

"Well, then, you have, dear wife," the man replied. "But until you can prove me wrong, listen to me, and listen to me good: _there are no such things as aliens or extraterrestrials or whatever you call them. Period. Enough said, dear wife_."

"You don't know that, though!"

"Oh, and you do?"

"They're northern lights! That's what they are! Yes!"

"You and your northern lights."

"What? That's really what they are!"

"I'm sure they are, dear."


End file.
